Headmaster's Thoughts Detail
Headmaster's Thoughts: July 2023
I am going to tell a story about a horse. Most people who know my private life, know that Jayme introduced me to riding when we moved to the States, and that we owned a breeding farm in North Salem. For 26 years, we rode almost every day. In a much earlier essay in this “Thoughts” series, I wrote about Jayme’s favorite horse, CB. Coffee Bean, CB’s Jockey Club name, was a racehorse who never won a race. He was a lovely gray thoroughbred who Jayme competed on, and adored, for many years.
Being that this is one of my last pieces, I shall write about a horse that I did not ride, but is a racehorse called Mommasgottarun.
About 40 years ago, Jayme and I were involved with the first successful software program that used a database of the genealogy of every American thoroughbred to run at an established track in order to align the pedigree family a mare should be mated to and produce the most likely chance of having a successful racehorse as offspring. Since all thoroughbreds descend from three foundation sires, and the fact that there is no artificial insemination in the thoroughbred business, this task was not impossible for a large IBM computer. To prove the effectiveness of this program, we worked with a brilliant horseman in Kentucky. He gave us some mares in foal so that we could deliver their young in our farm for the New York racing program. This program meant that a foal born in New York could win money in races restricted only to New York breds and were therefore easier than open races. Our mares were not expensive, but their foals were reasonably successful not only in New York State but also around the country. In fact, our first trainer was a very young man called Brian Rice at the Penn National racecourse, and he charged us less to train a racehorse than it would cost to park a car in a garage in Manhattan. I well remember the first horse he trained, Aunt Ruth’s Song, who did well at the track.
So, 40 years later, when I knew that I would no longer be Head of York and needed a hobby, I turned to Brian, a well-known trainer of young horses. We met last summer at the Saratoga Sales of yearling thoroughbreds, and both agreed on two horses that we liked. We bid, acquired them, and arranged for them to go to Brian’s farm in Ocala, Florida, to be trained by him to run out of a gate on a racecourse (he has his own track at his farm). At lunch on the day of the auction, I met the rest of the Rice family, all children of or nephews and nieces of his father, Clyde Rice, who was a renowned trainer in his time. Brian knew that I was looking to enjoy the sport, and he wisely observed that leaving the two young ones at his farm would not be that much fun for me. He introduced me to his sister, Linda Rice, one of the most successful trainers in New York. He suggested that she and I claim a few “cheap” horses, then she would train them, and I would have fun watching them run. So Linda and I agreed to work together, and look at claiming races. A claiming race is the lowest form of thoroughbred racing because every horse in the race can be bought for the claiming “price” by anyone with a horse in that season at that track. After claiming, the next rank of races are allowance races where the purse is much higher. The Stakes races, with the top purses, follow. Stakes races can be “listed” stakes races, or, higher still, “graded” stakes races. The Kentucky Derby is, obviously, a Grade 1 race.
We claimed two horses, and both of them won some races and returned the cost of buying them. One of them was a 3-year-old filly called Mommasgottarun. She had good breeding, but had not been very successful in the sprint claiming races she had been running in. Linda looked at her pedigree and decided that she would be more successful at longer distances. And so she was as a 4 year old (all racehorses have an artificial birthday of January 1st). She won quite a few allowance races, always preferring to run on the outside of the others in the race. She was not an easy filly. She tossed her head when anyone tried to put a halter over her head. She kicked out when a saddle was put on her. She could be difficult to lead on a line. But, put her in a starting gate and run her, and she was all business and, most importantly, liked to win. Winning at the longer races clearly gave her the confidence to try even harder. It was exciting to watch her mature into a fine racehorse.
Finally, Linda decided to put her into a Stakes race. There were two coming up. One was a listed Stakes race, and five days after that was a Grade 3 Stakes race. Linda entered her in both. In the first race, she started in the middle of the field and was not comfortable being inside other horses. I think she finished seventh. Normally, it would be extremely unusual to run a horse five days later in a more difficult race. But, and this was a factor, in a field of seven (one was scratched) in the graded stakes race, she was randomly drawn as number eight. In other words, she was the outside horse. And Linda looked at her on the morning of the race, watched her jog, saw that she seemed happy to move, and left her in the race. A graded stakes race (at Aqueduct racetrack) comes with a handsome trophy. Jayme had just had her left knee totally replaced and could not go and watch her. But, since there was a chance of getting a trophy, I wanted to be there to receive it. The race is called the Distaff and it was the Stakes race of the day at Aqueduct. I watched the race from the Horseman’s Room at Aqueduct.
The Horseman’s Room is a cozy place overlooking the finish line, and it is where the trainers, horse professionals, and a few owners and friends, hang out as though it were a club. It is not the fancy restaurant upstairs. The Room provides free coffee, tea, and snacks, and there are betting machines for the horsemen to use so that they do not have to line up at a window.
I noticed that the gentlemen there were large, and no one there was English. In this friendly atmosphere, I talked to some of these gentlemen. One of the conversations went this way:
Large Gentleman to me; “Youse not from around here from the way you talks.”
Me; “You are right, I am originally from England.”
Large Gentleman; “What youse doing here?”
“I have a horse running.”
“Which race?”
“The Seventh.”
“The big race!” To some other large gentleman. “Hey, Vinny! The man here has a horse running in the big race.”
Vinny; ‘What’s its name?”
Me; “Mommasgottarun.”
Vinny; “I like that name. Hey Sol, Gino! This guy’s got a horse in the big race called Mommasgottarun.”
General murmur among the group of large gentlemen: “Good name, good name.”
General agreement among this group of Damon Runyonyesque gentlemen to “put some money on Mommasgottarun.” They went to the machines and bet. I never ever bet but I was fascinated how they all agreed that my being there, with a horse whose name they liked, was a propitious omen, and every one of them bet on her. She was an outsider at odds of eight to one. None of the media pundits expected her to do well.
Before the race, I went down to the saddling area to meet Linda and the Jockey, Eric. Eric had ridden Mommasgottarun every time for us, and knew her well. Linda and I returned together to the Horseman’s Lounge to watch the race from the window and on the TV screens that were all around. Linda even had a pair of binoculars. The “Group” gathered together and watched the race intently.
You can watch this very race on YouTube today. Search for “Mommasgottarun-2023-the Distaff”. You will see that my horse, number 8 with Eric wearing a blue and yellow helmet cover, starts off trailing at the back for the first half, and then begins making her move at the top of the curve leading to the straight. She edges up to third, and looks very promising. In the Horseman’s Lounge there was a chant beginning from the group of large gentlemen. “Go Momma, go Momma!” Mommasgottarun moved up to second, the chant grew louder. I thought I was in a surreal world but I started chanting with them (as did Linda, who was clearly caught up in the moment). Momma took the lead. The shouts of “Go Momma!” were now very loud and the men were jumping up and down. If you listen to the YouTube commentary, you will notice that the track announcer clearly liked the name because he keeps repeating “Mommasgottarun” as she races around.
She hung on to the lead and won. My new friends were ecstatic. I was hugged. I went down with Linda to the winner’s circle where I was interviewed (and my son saw me on a sports channel) and presented with the trophy (which is a very handsome, large silver tray). An outrider on a horse, went out to the track to take Mommasgottarun in to the winner’s circle by her bridle. Eric told her that this might not be a good idea since Mommagottarun would try to bite her horse. She, intelligently, stayed a respectful distance.
We try to take a “win” photograph of Linda, Eric the jockey sitting on Momma, the trophy, myself and, suddenly appeared, Eric’s family. Mommasgottarun did not want to have her photograph taken. She swerved and dodged. Eventually, after three attempts and walking her around, she stood still just long enough for the official photograph to be snapped.
That, dear reader, was a fun day at the races for me.
So what happened to Mommasgottarun? She had given her all for that race. There were a number of articles, in horse magazines in the U.S. and even around the world, about the horse that won a stakes race five days after running in another. She had earned back her price many times, and I was approached by the farm where she was foaled. They offered a lot of money for her to join their band of broodmares. It was time to retire her while she was sound, happy, and not burned out. With nostalgia, Linda put her on a truck for Kentucky, where she would be bred to an outstanding stallion. True to form, it was not easy to get Mommasgottarun on the horse van. She refused several times to get on. She kicked her back hooves up as she entered. She was going to be a mother, and would, surely, produce lovely foals. I hope they are as feisty and run as well as she did.
And that is my horse story. Jayme had CB who she rode and loved. I had Mommasgottarun, who gave me a wonderful experience (and a trophy, and a beautiful win photograph with me grinning from ear to ear). I will not forget her.
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List of 20 news stories.
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Headmaster's Thoughts: May 2023
Read MoreThis month I am cheating by reproducing a presentation I made to an educational conference, this April, on the teaching of Ethics to high school students. Last month’s “Thoughts” were hopefully amusing. The same cannot be said for this presentation:
Good Morning. My name is Ronnie Stewart and I started York Prep School in 1969 with my wife and have been Head of School for the 54 years it has served its students in New York City. For most of those years, I have taught Ethics to all members of the Senior Class. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: April 2023
There are tea ceremonies all over the world, but nothing quite like the English tea ceremony. Since it may become a fading institution, I want to give it a review before it goes away with the steam locomotive. You can find this odd ceremony practiced in the better English hotels and a few department stores in London.Read More -
Headmaster's Thoughts: March 2023
Read MoreI love going to the opera, and drag Jayme along about five times a year. When I was a young man, I would sit somewhere near the roof but now we are fortunate to be closer to the stage. We saw Fedora very recently. It is not a great opera. The story is absurd, and it has not been performed at the Met for over 20 years. Whenever the Metropolitan Opera returns a rarely-heard opera back into its repertoire, they bring out the superstars to perform it. And so it was with this revival, which starred Sonya Yoncheva and Piotr Bezcala. The music was fair, but the singing was superb. Going to the Met, one often sees great performances, sometimes only good ones, and, rarely, average ones. But the experience of sitting in a vast hall covered mainly in red velvet, the visual spectacle of the sets, the professional excellence of the orchestra and chorus (and occasionally dancers), still makes each performance (regardless of the opera itself) a special New York evening. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: February 2023
Read MoreWelcome to February. As a second child, until now I never thought of myself as a “Spare”. Of course, I am not the son of a King either. I married a second child and have no idea, or much interest, if this is a sociological factor or just chance. Currently, I have noticed a tendency to find deep psychological reasons for simpler issues. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: January 2023
Welcome to February. As a second child, until now I never thought of myself as a “Spare”. Of course, I am not the son of a King either. I married a second child and have no idea, or much interest, if this is a sociological factor or just chance. Currently, I have noticed a tendency to find deep psychological reasons for simpler issues.Read More -
Headmaster's Thoughts: December 2022
Read MoreAs we approach the winter holidays, let me wish all of my readers, few as you may be, a very joyful New Year.I started writing these thoughts in December 2004. So, this month, to celebrate the beginning of my 19thyear of producing the pieces known as “Headmaster’s Thoughts”, I thought I would leave the essay format and indulge myself in making up a list. I really like lists. Good bibliographies have helped direct me to reading great works that I otherwise might not have read. Recommendations by friends have led me to places that I greatly enjoyed, and also to watch productions that I probably would have missed. I do know that every list is very personal, and, arguably, a self-indulgence on the part of the list maker, but this is a case of hoping that if I share my list with you, that you might share your list with me. I would certainly appreciate that. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: November 2022
Dreams are interesting. In mine, I am always a young man dealing with absurd situations in my former body. I think of myself as a young man in an old body, but dreams do not work that way, at least not for me. I youthfully run, duck, advance, and do all the things that I would have great difficulty (which is a euphemistic phrase for “impossible”) doing with my current creaky limbs. There is something reassuring in that dream world, even though when I wake, I realize it is completely non-realistic.Read More -
Headmaster's Thoughts: October 2022
Read MoreA ball is thrown into a room. The baby looks at the room’s entrance, curious as to how the ball arrived. A dog jumps for the ball. The difference is curiosity, and we are discovering that even two-month-old babies have an inherent sense of the laws of physics. They look for reasons. A ball is bounced and stays suspended in the air; babies are puzzled and look for reasons for this suspension of the law of gravity. The dog leaps up to grab the ball, indifferent as to how it got there. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: September 2022
Read MoreWe were once teenagers too. And got into trouble.It probably is difficult for present day adolescents to appreciate that all of their school administrators were once as young as they are, and although the avenues of “troubles” were very different, nonetheless all of us got into trouble in our own way. Teenagers have always tested limits, and we all went through that challenging period of our lives. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: August 2022
Read MoreDear Incoming York Prep Student: This month’s essay is primarily addressed to you. Often my monthly essays are deliberately not serious (I even attempt humor), and written for the enjoyment of the reader and myself. But not this month. I want to give you concrete advice on being successful at York, and, indeed, at any school you attend. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: July 2022
Read MoreIn many lists of top international undergraduate universities, my university, Oxford, ranks in the top three. This includes rankings by American based institutions. In the QS World university rankings (who is “QS”?), Oxford ranks second to MIT. In the U.S. News and World Report, it is number three after Stanford, and then UC Berkeley. In the Times Higher Education ranking, Oxford is number one. The reason I am giving you this statistic is not just for pride in a place I attended but, primarily, to note that virtually all of Oxford’s undergraduate degrees take only three years. Apart from the Classic Greats; a hallowed if slightly dated course, Oxford undergraduate degrees are only three years long. So why do American degrees, apparently considered lower on these rankings (and you may note that Harvard and Yale did not appear) take four years to complete? Since Oxford is the only university to come in all three rankings as one of the top three, that indicates excellence. Hooray! Why be modest? -
Headmaster's Thoughts: June 2022
Read MoreAs in all previous years, June’s “Headmaster’s Thoughts” is the speech made by the Head at the 2022 Commencement Exercises.Congratulations to the graduating Senior Class of 2022, and your families who helped get you here. This is a great group of young people, and all of us applaud your success. You have contributed to so many parts of our school academically, socially, in the performing arts and athletically. I note that over 10% of your class brought home our first Basketball State Championship since 1992. That is just a sign of the spirit of this group. In all arenas, I give you my congratulations. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: May 2022
The day before I started writing this piece, I watched our first League Boys Varsity Volleyball game of the Spring Season. They won! And they beat a school that is three times our size. What is happening? Are we becoming a sports powerhouse without knowing it? Since we won the State Basketball Championships this year, we have had a few applications from basketball players eager to join our program. I should also proudly state that both our Girls Varsity Basketball and Boys Junior Varsity Basketball teams won their League Championships. Hooray, I say. But, without disappointing the applicants, I should also add that we are not the University of Kansas. The last time we won the State Tournament was 30 years ago. 1992! Not exactly a dynasty.Read More -
Headmaster's Thoughts: April 2022
Read MoreI have two numbers on our home phone. Whenever a call comes into the second number (without anyone being on the first line), I always answer, “F.B.I.”. This seems to work. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: March 2022
Read MoreI want to tell you a story about my life. Sorry to be self-absorbed, but maybe you can learn a general lesson from my particular circumstance. Back in 1969, I was a very young and, surprisingly, successful barrister. I was in the right Chambers (what you might call a sort of partnership) at the right time, and I had been chosen as the Junior (what you might call “second chair” ) to defend Charles Kray in the Kray case, which turned out to be the longest criminal murder trial in English history. In the middle of that trial, on October 6th 1968 to be precise, I married Jayme. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: February 2022
Let me categorically say that we all need fun in our lives. COVID, unfortunately, has robbed us of our opportunities for silliness. I remember having a family Thanksgiving dinner party with friends and extended family, and providing them all with clown’s noses. The wearing of those red squeaky sponges added to the event. Now, we do not have those parties. I remember blowing up balloons on a plane and making animals (some of which popped), which I gave to other passengers, to the extreme embarrassment of my son. Now we do not take planes anymore. I remember…no, I will not bore you further. I think most of you know what I mean. Our whole way of life has been affected by the pandemic. And I know that I have been lucky. No one in my family has been hospitalized yet. Some have had COVID, but only mildly. I am still untouched but waiting.Read More -
Headmaster's Thoughts: January 2022
Read MoreAnother spin around the Sun. Another year.Is it the eternal optimistic nature of our species that we expect next year to be better? Because I think most of us do. We really look forward to getting over the pandemic, seeing each other’s faces without covering, socializing together. And if we adults have had a hard time of it over the past two years, how much worse has it been for our children? The time spent in school is the most critical time to develop the skills of understanding how to get on with peers, how to share, how to be a member of a community. For too many children, that avenue of progress had a major break. They were homebound. Should they have been in school? I think so. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: December 2021
Read MoreAs we all look back over the year of 2021, it would be nice if we could compare it to previous years. How comforting to give a detailed analysis of growth, and achievement. Sadly, 2021 will go down as a year marked by extraordinary events. We have had a pandemic such as we have never seen in our lifetimes. Thankfully, due to the miracle of vaccines, we are now seeing a slow recovery. Yet the statistics for inflation, employment, and climate control, are uniformly sad. And no one can say that the quality of life in our great city is yet back to normal. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: December 2021
Read MoreAs we all look back over the year of 2021, it would be nice if we could compare it to previous years. How comforting to give a detailed analysis of growth, and achievement. Sadly, 2021 will go down as a year marked by extraordinary events. We have had a pandemic such as we have never seen in our lifetimes. Thankfully, due to the miracle of vaccines, we are now seeing a slow recovery. Yet the statistics for inflation, employment, and climate control, are uniformly sad. And no one can say that the quality of life in our great city is yet back to normal. -
Headmaster's Thoughts: November 2021
Can I be the only person who does not carry a cell phone? It seems that modern society is run on the basis that one will always have a cell phone at hand.Read More
